Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko

[mas0764]

KK were not the primary pusher of the 3rd line imo. Both Laf and Chytil stepped up. Im not bashing KK. I said similar things about Laf before his benching. Laf picked it up afterwards. I want KK to pick it up as well. Do you want to play Krav, Otho and other young guys behind KK if KK continues to produce at .35 points per game? I want him to earn his time just like Laf is lately. Show us a reason to be a top line player. We all want that to happen.

Kakko actually produced at 0.4 ppg this season. Nitpicking, but a marked improvement.

The fact that we're even discussing the possibility of another disgruntled top pick sucks.

Says a lot about the team's player development.

 

[GENESISPuck94]

It really feels like a mental thing. They have to tell him to attack the middle more.

Definitely give him the chance. Let him know we think he can be very good. Instill confidence but push for production. Push for shots.

You know how to destroy a player's confidence? Making him feel like every time he makes the smallest mistake he's going to be demoted in the lineup and benched. Making them feel like they're on egg shells every time they come to the rink. That is what Gallant has done.

How do you increase a player's confidence? Allowing them to go out there and play their game, not make them feel like their life is on the line every time they show up to the rink. Make them feel excited to be there. Make them feel like they're important and they have a role to play. Help them learn from their mistakes in positive manner.

All Gallant does is f***ing bench, demote, or scratch young forwards every time they look left instead of right. Yet Strome, Panarin, Kreider, Rooney, McKegg and others can show up with a lackadaisical attitude, float around the whole time, flub wide open nets, waste power plays with lazy entries, and still be rewarded because "vets".

There's a clear double standard with Gallant (and most brain dead dinosaur coaches).

Let the f***in kids play, fail, learn, and succeed in the long run.

 

[The New Russian Five]

You know how to destroy a player's confidence? Making him feel like every time he makes the smallest mistake he's going to be demoted in the lineup and benched. Making them feel like they're on egg shells every time they come to the rink. That is what Gallant has done.

How do you increase a player's confidence? Allowing them to go out there and play their game, not make them feel like their life is on the line every time they show up to the rink. Make them feel excited to be there. Make them feel like they're important and they have a role to play. Help them learn from their mistakes in positive manner.

All Gallant does is f***ing bench, demote, or scratch young forwards every time they look left instead of right. Yet Strome, Panarin, Kreider, Rooney, McKegg and others can show up with a lackadaisical attitude, float around the whole time, flub wide open nets, waste power plays with lazy entries, and still be rewarded because "vets".

There's a clear double standard with Gallant (and most brain dead dinosaur coaches).

Let the f***in kids play, fail, learn, and succeed in the long run.

I would say that was more Quinn who did that. KK did have opportunities in the regular season to play in the top 6 for extended periods of time. From what we know of Gallant he mostly tells his players to just go out there and play, unlike Quinn who micromanages his teams. With that being said, I don't like how he handled KK after coming back from injury.

 

[LOFIN]

I think the Rangers M.O. is 1980s style “what’s your problem?” machismo. Like, what, you are a 20 year old with no support structure away from home in the most wild city on the globe, why aren’t you flourishing on your own? It doesn’t strike them that they may need to baby the kid a little.

I've had this feeling for a while as well, which is kinda surprising TBH considering how big the franchise is.

 

[tbassler]

I think it would have to be something DeAngeloesque.

What? did he also get sucker-punched???

 

[The New Russian Five]

I've had this feeling for a while as well, which is kinda surprising TBH considering how big the franchise is.

Especially considering the "first rate" organization that players always give the billing to the organization.

 

[mas0764]

I've had this feeling for a while as well, which is kinda surprising TBH considering how big the franchise is.

I mean, it only happened with both Andersson and Kravtsov as well.

Hey, maybe a more hands on mentor might have helped Andersson not stay up all night playing video games. Why is it that Buch being traded signified to Kravtsov that they didn't want to keep Kravtsov? They should have been showering Kravtsov with love and having a trainer come to his apartment every day with instructions on what kind of work he should be doing to condition properly. Why are these kids losing their ways in the offseasons?

 

[NickyFotiu]

Kakko actually produced at 0.4 ppg this season. Nitpicking, but a marked improvement.



Says a lot about the team's player development.

.42 after 2 seasons of .35. That is an improvement. We need more improvement.

 

[NCRanger]

I have to wonder if Gallant and management got frustrated with how long it took Kakko to get back from whatever injury he sustained in January. It's never really been revealed what it was, and it took nearly three months to come back from something that wasn't ever seen. And then he got hurt a few games after he came back.

 

[NickyFotiu]

You know how to destroy a player's confidence? Making him feel like every time he makes the smallest mistake he's going to be demoted in the lineup and benched. Making them feel like they're on egg shells every time they come to the rink. That is what Gallant has done.

How do you increase a player's confidence? Allowing them to go out there and play their game, not make them feel like their life is on the line every time they show up to the rink. Make them feel excited to be there. Make them feel like they're important and they have a role to play. Help them learn from their mistakes in positive manner.

All Gallant does is f***ing bench, demote, or scratch young forwards every time they look left instead of right. Yet Strome, Panarin, Kreider, Rooney, McKegg and others can show up with a lackadaisical attitude, float around the whole time, flub wide open nets, waste power plays with lazy entries, and still be rewarded because "vets".

There's a clear double standard with Gallant (and most brain dead dinosaur coaches).

Let the f***in kids play, fail, learn, and succeed in the long run.

Since KK was never scratched till this game I hardly think he was being benched for every mistake he made. Since we have one of the leagues youngest lineups I doubt Gallant is against playing young guys. I always laugh at this take that some fans think they know more about coaching in the NHL than actual coach of the year winners or candidates. I played in college. I coached kids for years. I would look insane trying to coach a NHL team. Gallant scratched Chytil twice. Chytil stepped up. He didnt cry. Gallant benched Laf. Laf came back stronger than ever. He didnt cry. Zooks, JT Miller, Kreider, etc were all benched. They didn't cry. They came back and established themselves as real players.

 

[LOFIN]

I mean, it only happened with both Andersson and Kravtsov as well.

Hey, maybe a more hands on mentor might have helped Andersson not stay up all night playing video games. Why is it that Buch being traded signified to Kravtsov that they didn't want to keep Kravtsov? They should have been showering Kravtsov with love and having a trainer come to his apartment every day with instructions on what kind of work he should be doing to condition properly. Why are these kids losing their ways in the offseasons?

Kakko has basically told Finnish media previously that the Rangers have had no input on his summer training, which I find just staggering. Yes, these are professional athletes who are supposed to know how to take care of themselves. This is also one of the riches franchises in the league and you would expect them to try to squeeze everything they can from their players. A hard salary cap means you can't get all the players you want, but you can surround them with all the staff you want in terms of scouting, player development etc.

One would've expected that the Rangers would have stepped in at this point and basically told that these are the things we want you to focus on during the summer, and here's how we are going to help you do that if you can't present us with your own plan.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Kakko has basically told Finnish media previously that the Rangers have had no input on his summer training, which I find just staggering. Yes, these are professional athletes who are supposed to know how to take care of themselves. This is also one of the riches franchises in the league and you would expect them to try to squeeze everything they can from their players. A hard salary cap means you can't get all the players you want, but you can surround them with all the staff you want in terms of scouting, player development etc.

One would've expected that the Rangers would have stepped in at this point and basically told that these are the things we want you to focus on during the summer, and here's how we are going to help you do that if you can't present us with your own plan.

I hate to seem like I'm bashing the guy but he is 21 years old. That is an adult. He is being paid around a million dollars a year. At what point will people expect a player to take responsibility for himself? Many players of all ages and salaries get together on their own to train. Nothing is stopping anyone from coming to camp in the best shape of their lives. I still have hope for KK. I still think he can come around BUT some people want to point fingers at everyone but him. We should stop with the excuses and enabling. If KK turns in to a great player or does not turn in to a great player it will be because of KK. Not because of other people. Same as Zooks, JT Miller, and every other player. You can get in great shape in NY, Finland or in my garage. It is about effort, desire and personal responsibility.

 

[mas0764]

Kakko has basically told Finnish media previously that the Rangers have had no input on his summer training, which I find just staggering. Yes, these are professional athletes who are supposed to know how to take care of themselves. This is also one of the riches franchises in the league and you would expect them to try to squeeze everything they can from their players. A hard salary cap means you can't get all the players you want, but you can surround them with all the staff you want in terms of scouting, player development etc.

One would've expected that the Rangers would have stepped in at this point and basically told that these are the things we want you to focus on during the summer, and here's how we are going to help you do that if you can't present us with your own plan.

They are 18 year old kids!!

They should be micromanaged every second of their time.

When I was 18 my parents were waking me up in the morning, telling me to go out and get a job, making me do chores around the house, etc. These kids are still CHILDREN in a lot of ways. You can't turn them loose in an apartment in NYC and expect that they are going to do everything right.

They should have a set schedule every single day, offseason or not, complete with workout schedules, eating regimens, etc. During the season they should be practically living at the facility and going home to sleep. In the offseason there should still be major hand holding.

A f***ing memo or exit interview note saying "Work on this," isn't enough for a child. They forget. Or get bored and go play video games. That's what 18 year olds do. You have to go knock on their door every day and drag them to workouts. It should be f***ing assigned, like homework, and they must do it, and if it's not, a trainer needs to go make them do it.

 

[LOFIN]

I hate to seem like I'm bashing the guy but he is 21 years old. That is an adult. He is being paid around a million dollars a year. At what point will people expect a player to take responsibility for himself? Many players of all ages and salaries get together on their own to train. Nothing is stopping anyone from coming to camp in the best shape of their lives. I still have hope for KK. I still think he can come around BUT some people want to point fingers at everyone but him. We should stop with the excuses and enabling. If KK turns in to a great player or does not turn in to a great player it will be because of KK. Not because of other people. Same as Zooks, JT Miller, and every other player. You can get in great shape in NY, Finland or in my garage. It is about effort, desire and personal responsibility.

I'm not talking about being in shape. AFAIK Kakko has always done pretty well in testing. My point was, the team is not identifying certain weaknesses in his game and giving him advice on how to improve. Like let's not kid ourselves, the Rangers could afford to hire a skating coach, pay for his salary and life expenses in Finland for working with Kakko there. If they wanted to.

And I absolutely point the finger on Kakko, in the end it mostly comes down to the players to overcome the obstacles in their careers. But I think a top notch franchise in this league should do everything in their power (which should be infinite because it's mostly about money) to help these kids. And if they are not doing that, there's a problem. I can understand if the Carolina Hurricanes tell the kids to figure it out themselves. I can't understand why this should be the case with the New York Rangers. We all love to refer to attitude and the good old days and how struggles help to grow the players. But sometimes actually doing something to help them grow is good as well. It's how modern sports operate. These modern athletes are becoming more and more finely tuned machines with their diet, training regimen etc. And this angle should be utilized to the max.

 

[mas0764]

I hate to seem like I'm bashing the guy but he is 21 years old. That is an adult. He is being paid around a million dollars a year. At what point will people expect a player to take responsibility for himself? Many players of all ages and salaries get together on their own to train. Nothing is stopping anyone from coming to camp in the best shape of their lives. I still have hope for KK. I still think he can come around BUT some people want to point fingers at everyone but him. We should stop with the excuses and enabling. If KK turns in to a great player or does not turn in to a great player it will be because of KK. Not because of other people. Same as Zooks, JT Miller, and every other player. You can get in great shape in NY, Finland or in my garage. It is about effort, desire and personal responsibility.

It's legally an adult but if you don't remember what it was like to be 21 then I question how old you are. I'm 39 and I remember when I was 21 aside from going to class I basically did nothing productive when I was left to my own devices.

You have to be made to. "Adults" at that age, even relatively responsible ones like I was (and by that I mean, I was attending college, not failing out, not doing drugs, etc), who was on my way to a college degree and then grad school, need more direct involvement to help them reach their max potential. I got through - with Cs. Yeah, there are the world's valedictorians and honor students out there who can self-start, but those people are not most people, and you certainly should not assume every athlete is workout warrior Chris Kreider.

Handholding is absolutely necessary to motivate a lot of these 18-22 year old college age kids.

They should tell him to f***ing move in with Chris Kreider this summer and do everything he does.

 

[mas0764]

So no drama. Kakko didn't do anything wrong.

Gallant just made a dumb decision to dress Hunt over him.

 

[LOFIN]

Handholding is absolutely necessary to motivate a lot of these 18-22 year old college age kids.

They should tell him to f***ing move in with Chris Kreider this summer and do everything he does.

To me, it's not about motivation. Very few players who reach this level are so skilled they can get by with just that. The majority of NHLers have the motivation to work out and train. I'm just questioning do these kids know HOW to train and develop themselves. This is why NHLers hire skating coaches, professional nutritionists, personal trainers, even sports psychologists.

Now from what I've understood, Kakko has taken skating lessons in Finland as well. But these are because he himself has tried to get them, this was last summer. The Rangers have had no input (from what I've understood). Why? The biggest glaring weakness of Kakko at this moment is his speed. The Rangers should basically tell him to drop everything else and just spend the summer on ice. Maybe spend a couple of hours training your shot with Rantanen or Laine. Instead, Kakko will probably hit the weights and do his usual regimen, and skate for a few weeks/month before the camp.

 

[Synergy27]

I sort of agree with a lot of this commentary on what should reasonably be expected of 18 year olds, but you guys do need to realize that comparing these kids to yourself is a bit of a stretch. Yes, they are kids, but they got to where they are because of dedication and hard work (on top of loads of talent). The type of kid that gets distracted by video games or that needs to be prodded to do his chores is simply not going to get drafted at #2 overall to the NHL.

I am hoping we are just making a mountain out of a molehill with this scratch. Rewind a couple of weeks and we were all pretty ecstatic with the kids progress. We need more out of Kakko but he showed me more in these playoffs than he had in the previous three years combined.

Let's just get him signed and move on.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I'm not talking about being in shape. AFAIK Kakko has always done pretty well in testing. My point was, the team is not identifying certain weaknesses in his game and giving him advice on how to improve. Like let's not kid ourselves, the Rangers could afford to hire a skating coach, pay for his salary and life expenses in Finland for working with Kakko there. If they wanted to.

And I absolutely point the finger on Kakko, in the end it mostly comes down to the players to overcome the obstacles in their careers. But I think a top notch franchise in this league should do everything in their power (which should be infinite because it's mostly about money) to help these kids. And if they are not doing that, there's a problem. I can understand if the Carolina Hurricanes tell the kids to figure it out themselves. I can't understand why this should be the case with the New York Rangers. We all love to refer to attitude and the good old days and how struggles help to grow the players. But sometimes actually doing something to help them grow is good as well. It's how modern sports operate. These modern athletes are becoming more and more finely tuned machines with their diet, training regimen etc. And this angle should be utilized to the max.

There is nothing saying they have not offered to pay for that. KK could also pay for that if he was willing. He is a professional. Gretz used to joke about how Marty McSorely would often say he was coming in to camp in great shape. Marty may not have followed thru but Gretz and Messier did. It was not about the team hiring people to help them. It was personal desire. If KK wants to come to anywhere in the USA to train I'm sure the Rangers were be willing to help him. If KK wants to do it in Europe I'm sure the Rangers would help him. Its not a money issue imo. We also have to face the possibility that Kakko could come in in great shape but never be a great player. I hope that is not the case. I want him to be great but as I said previously it comes down to Kakko not other people.

It's legally an adult but if you don't remember what it was like to be 21 then I question how old you are. I'm 39 and I remember when I was 21 aside from going to class I basically did nothing productive when I was left to my own devices.

You have to be made to. "Adults" at that age, even relatively responsible ones like I was (and by that I mean, I was attending college, not failing out, not doing drugs, etc), who was on my way to a college degree and then grad school, need more direct involvement to help them reach their max potential. I got through - with Cs. Yeah, there are the world's valedictorians and honor students out there who can self-start, but those people are not most people, and you certainly should not assume every athlete is workout warrior Chris Kreider.

Handholding is absolutely necessary to motivate a lot of these 18-22 year old college age kids.

They should tell him to f***ing move in with Chris Kreider this summer and do everything he does.

You are right. He may be immature at 21 but he is still a professional hockey player. This is his job that he gets paid very well to do. Many of our players and other teams players do get together to train over the summer. Many have done so for years. They can make suggestions but at the end of the day it comes down to what KK wants to do. He has to be willing and have that desire. I hope he does. I want all our players to bring their very best.

 

[mas0764]

I sort of agree with a lot of this commentary on what should reasonably be expected of 18 year olds, but you guys do need to realize that comparing these kids to yourself is a bit of a stretch. Yes, they are kids, but they got to where they are because of dedication and hard work (on top of loads of talent). The type of kid that gets distracted by video games or that needs to be prodded to do his chores is simply not going to get drafted at #2 overall to the NHL.

I am hoping we are just making a mountain out of a molehill with this scratch. Rewind a couple of weeks and we were all pretty ecstatic with the kids progress. We need more out of Kakko but he showed me more in these playoffs than he had in the previous three years combined.

Let's just get him signed and move on.

This is true. By definition these guys are more self-starters than even your average college student or grad student.

But the point kind of remains. You don't know how to fully manage your own life at that age. You just don't. I'm sure it's overwhelming. And they certainly don't have the expertise that a coach would have on what they need to work on most.

 

[QJL]

I would say that was more Quinn who did that. KK did have opportunities in the regular season to play in the top 6 for extended periods of time. From what we know of Gallant he mostly tells his players to just go out there and play, unlike Quinn who micromanages his teams. With that being said, I don't like how he handled KK after coming back from injury.

Yes. I remember the 8 points in 8 games with Strome/Panarin followed by him inexplicably being moved off that line.

 

[LoveGoons]

Honestly I think kakko is still hurt and was playing afraid of the bolts.. they finishing there check on him and he wasn’t finish his checks on them.. for a guy of this size not taking the opponent out of the play with even a finishing off a soft check into the board . But that was an issue for half of the team..

 

[bleedblue94]

I'm willing to accept Turks statement today but I will still wait to see what comes out this summer. IF and I stress if it was more than about the lineup that wouldn't have been offered today. Too much other stuff happening to turn it into a kakko Turk circus part 2

 

[will1066]

Media to Kakko: Lafreniere said he's going to work on his skating this summer. What will you work on?

Kakko: Communication with the head coach.

 

[LOFIN]

I'm willing to accept Turks statement today but I will still wait to see what comes out this summer. IF and I stress if it was more than about the lineup that wouldn't have been offered today. Too much other stuff happening to turn it into a kakko Turk circus part 2

I'm waiting on what he's going to say to the Finnish media. He's not going to speak out loud any more than for NY media, but natives will get a better feel on how it feels.